Wednesday 25 January

2 runners at a damp and dreary Leicester yesterday. After the bumper crowd of the Christmas meeting, it was back to normal yesterday with the usual sparse turnout at the Midlands venue. With a runner in the first and last, it was at least nice to be able to get a table and stay in the warm and dry for a couple of hours! First up was Smart Exit for The Ravenstone Partnership. This gorgeous son of Exit To Nowhere has been improving with every run, but is still very much on the weak side. He is also a slow learner, so it was important to consolidate on our previous 4th place at the same venue. He jumped and travelled better again, and under a lovely ride from Sam - who was very mindful of SE's stage of development and the ground - he stayed on up the straight to finish fifth. Although a place further back than last time - it was an improvement and he will be winning plenty of races in time. Sams comments after the race were - 'he will make some chaser' so there is a whole lot to look forward to! He has pulled out fine this morning, and we will see where we are in about 2 weeks and make some decisions. Grassfinch then went to post in the last. This tiny little girl is all heart and we thought she had a great chance of at least making the frame. Unfortunately the writing was on the wall with her form a very early stage, and Jimmy rightly pulled her up at the end of the back straight. She was found to be quite mucky after the race, and therefore has a valid excuse - she will be back. Congratulations to Ben Turner who, with his team Cardiff City has made it through to his first Wembley Final last night. Ben is a member of TMT Grand who own Colebrooke, so it could be a week to remember for him if he runs well at Cheltenham on Saturday in the Grade 2 Finesse Hurdle!!